Although this year’s crop of dog-testants has only begun winning over the hearts and minds of the Internet-enabled public (the winner won’t be crowned until Oct. 15), certain prejudices appear to be steering early balloting.

People seem to prefer sparingly-used props — as in the case of the stress toy-chomping shih poo belonging to Wisconsin Democrat Gwen Moore.

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That seems to be besting overly-produced moments, a la the flag-draped westie put on parade by California Republican Ed Royce.

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Dressing all the way up is apparently cool (such as the tuxedo-clad beagle Ollie who calls Michigan Republican Candice S. Miller “Mom”).